A father-daughter duo, Ken and Keli Chaffin from the U.S., just cracked a year-long puzzle: decoding a mock "alien" message sent by ESA’s ExoMars orbiter in May 2023. This was part of A Sign in Space, a project exploring how humans might react to a real extraterrestrial signal. The message was intercepted by three observatories, and while the signal was extracted in just 10 days, decoding it took until June 2024. ESA announced their success in October.

So, what was the big reveal? A picture of five amino acids—key building blocks of life. The message wasn’t from actual aliens but designed by a team of scientists, artists, and even a space lawyer to see how we’d handle such a scenario. It’s got everyone asking: What would aliens mean by sending this?

Now, a group of citizen scientists on Discord is debating the meaning. Is it a hint at shared biology? A peace offering? Or just a fun thought experiment? While the true intent remains unknown, one thing’s clear: this project has sparked curiosity and teamwork, preparing us for the day we might get a real cosmic message.